Living and dieing in Germoney

He was really shocked, when he realized where he had come. He wanted to go back at once, but there was no way.

Alemayo Lemma Tulu came to Germany in the year 1995. Before he had been in Moskow, studying. During this time the sovjet union turned to normal national states and his home country ethiopia broke to pieces, there was civil war and ethnic persecution. So he decided to continue his studies in Germany. What a sad mistake, a dead end, hanging in this trap.

He had bought a visa in Russia to come here - he had left Russia and could not go back. To Ethiopia in war he did not want to go, so he had to call for asylum. The first what he saw from Germany was the ZASt (Zentrale Aufnahmestelle) in Zirndorf near Nuremberg. This is one of the central camps, wher they put arriving refugees - guarded, with barbed wire and a police station next to it.

His call for asylum was refused, he had been in Russia before. So from Zirndorf he came to a refugee camp somewhere around Nuremberg with the status of "Duldung", means "toleration". That means, you have to go every one to three months to the office to renew this kind of "permission", it means Residenzpflicht (You are not allowed, to leave the Landkreis, (district), it means food packages and living with other people in one room.

After five depressive years in the camp he got a working permission, found work and was possible to rent an own flat. So he started to build an existence, - not the one he wanted, cause his plan to study was impossible - but there was some kind of perspective. After 5 more years still in the status of "Duldung" they made a new law the immigration law. Because the reponsibility for giving working permissions turned over fom the employment office (Arbeitsamt) to foreigners office, a lot of refugees with "Duldung" where withdrawn there working permissions,
cause they where suspected, not to work together with the officials on their own deportation.

About 70-90 Ethiopian refugees in Nurmberg lost working permission and their jobs, so it happened to Alemayoh. (We reported: http://de.indymedia.org/2005/03/108725.shtml (German) We had a manifestaion at the 2nd European day of action, concerning this http://de.indymedia.org/2005/04/110640.shtml )

Unemployment money? No, you cannot get unemployment money, when you are not possible to work, although you payed this insurance for five years.

Shock. He had been living in a small town, Neustadt Aisch, about 30 km west of Nuremberg, now he got no money any more exept the 40 Euro monthly refugees get in Germoney. So he was ordered to live in a camp again - with 6 people in one room, in a village out of Neustadt, Offenheim, 20 minutes to walk by foot to the next bus station...

So Alemayoh gave up. On 17th of April 2005 he fulfilled his obligation to work together with the officials and deported himself to death. His will to live was broken, the dead end meant suicide.

When nazi people kill someone, it is against his or her will of live the state is more effective...

....and everyone says "we are not to blame, lets all wash hands and play the game..." (Poison Girls)

Now the offices slowly begin to realize, that they interpreted te law in a wrong way. Slowly they go back. The first people get back their working permissions and they told us, they would give right to stay for people, who came here as minors.

But slowly: they might be hurt so ugly, loosing their faces
The struggle goes on...

Markus, Ngb